SynthesisFrontiers in physiology2026
Effects of caffeine supplementation on post-exercise recovery: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis of perceptual, functional performance, physiological, and sleep outcomes.
Synthesis in Frontiers in physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effects of caffeine supplementation on perceptual recovery, functional performance during recovery, physiological recovery, and sleep recovery after exercise and explore potential moderators. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus were searched from inception to June 30, 2026, with supplementary searches of Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and reference lists. Randomized controlled trials comparing caffeine with placebo or a caffeine-free condition were included. Hedges' g was synthesized using three-level random-effects models with REML estimation and CR2 cluster-robust inference. Risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed using RoB 2 and GRADE, respectively. Results: Seventeen studies were included, of which 16 contributed 120 effect sizes to the quantitative synthesis. Caffeine had no clear effect on perceptual recovery ( Conclusion: Caffeine appears to have domain-specific effects on post-exercise recovery. It may modestly improve functional performance during recovery, does not clearly improve perceptual or physiological recovery, and may impair sleep. Functional and sleep findings should be interpreted cautiously because statistical significance varied in sensitivity analyses and prediction intervals included the null. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD420261467699, identifier CRD420261467699.
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